Maybe This Time
by nodistancelefttorun
Summary: Oneshot. Kurt's first day at Dalton his sophomore year. AU in which he never went to McKinley at all.


**A/N: Niamh (raybansanddietcoke on here) gave me this prompt, so I wrote it. Thanks for saving me from boredom, hon!**

**Idk if I like how it turned out but Niamh liked it so I guess it's good enough. Yaay.**

**And the title of this doesn't really have anything to do with the fic itself. I should learn how to name things properly, I always get so nervous whenever I do it and then I just take whatever fits somewhat into the story. Sigh.**

**And for anyone who follows any of my other fics in-progress (like Enchanted, ahem) - I am _so_ sorry but I just can't seem to get myself together long enough to write the next chapters right now. Idk what it is... I'll try harder, I promise. Don't give up on me. xxx**

* * *

"Do I look okay?" Kurt asked, doing another twirl on his tippy-toes in front of the full-body mirror.

"You look absolutely stunning, honey," Carole promised as she passed him on her way from the kitchen to the living room.

Kurt tried to smile at her, but it turned into a scowl and he turned back to the mirror in defeat.

He would never in a million years have chosen this outfit for himself, but he figures wearing a tacky uniform is definitely better than getting thrown into lockers all day.

Fair enough, he never actually tried going to McKinley High School as he initially planned. Knowing that the boy who had bullied him since pre-school, David Karofsky, was attending the school was enough to make it clear that Kurt couldn't go there too. He had spent too many years being terrified already. He didn't want it to ruin his high school years as well.

So instead his parents enrolled him at Dalton Academy, an all-boys school that held a promising zero-tolerance policy towards bullying. Kurt would be safe there, and it was worth it even though the intuition was rather steep.

"Don't stress it, kiddo, it'll go great," Burt said and put a comforting hand on Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt relaxed from the touch and smiled at his dad through the mirror. "I hope so."

"I know so," Burt said confidently and gave his shoulder a final squeeze before joining Carole in the living room.

Kurt directed one last glance at the mirror, straightened his tie with a small cringe – it was so _tacky_, that blue and red combo – and then nodded to his reflection. It would have to do.

"I'll be home tonight," he called as he put his shoes on and laced them all the way up to right beneath his knee.

Burt returned to the hall, closely followed by Carole. Finn was still sleeping, of course. He never got up until absolutely necessary. Their classes at their respective schools started around the same time but Kurt had to drive a bit to get to his school. It was worth it, though.  
Carole hugged him tightly, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Good luck, sweetie."

He smiled and hugged back. His dad also wrapped a firm arm around him, and Kurt could just feel the bravery seeping into him through his dad's solid heartbeat against his shoulder. He could do this.

"I'll see you later," he said, and his smile was a little more genuine now.

"You'll do great," Burt said confidently, and moved to wrap his arm around Carole's shoulder instead.

They watched as Kurt got dressed, grabbed his keys and his messenger bag, and then stepped over the threshold. He waved and smiled before closing the door and walking to his Navigator that was parked in the driveway.

He slipped into the driver's seat and closed the door. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then put the keys in the ignition and started the engine. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Dalton Academy may seem impressive and threateningly huge on the outside, but once you got inside...

It was ten times worse.

The whole place was clad in dark wooden panels, the ceilings were high as church roofs and the hallways were _enormous. _You could easily fit two McKinley hallways next to each other in each Dalton hallway.

Kurt clutched the strap of his messenger bag tightly as he made his way through the huge double doors beneath the sign that clearly spelled out "Expedition".

The office looked just as dramatically luxurious as the other parts of the school he had seen so far – there was a red velvet couch, dark wooden panels covering the walls, expensive-looking artwork strategically placed around the room and a huge desk with an elegant middle-aged woman seated behind it.

She looked up as he entered and smiled at him over her glasses. Her brown hair was tied up in a tight bun and she was just very... _proper_.  
Kurt didn't know why he was surprised, though. The students all wore uniforms, for god's sake. Of course the esthetics would apply to the staff as well.

"Hello, I'm Kurt Hummel," he said and stepped forward to the desk. "I'm a new student."

"Of course," she said, typed something into her computer and then flipped through a stack of papers before handing him a few sheets. "Just fill out these and give them back to me when you're finished."

There was something mechanically nice in her voice, like with most secretaries. It was somewhat unsettling.

Kurt just nodded politely and went to sit in the velvet couch. It was obscenely comfortable and he only barely suppressed a moan as he sank into it, the material molding itself to fit him as he sank deeper down.

He dug through his bag and fished out a pen – it was one of his favorites, with a sharp edge and gorgeous black ink. He put it to the paper and started filling out the forms in his neat handwriting.

_Name: Kurt Elizabeth Hummel_

_Age: 16_

_Gender: Male_

And so on.

Just as he was halfway through question 4 –_ How would you describe your previous school experience? _– there was a clearing of a throat that made Kurt jump a little in his seat.

He glanced up to see a boy cross the room to stand by the secretary's desk. He could hear the boy discussing something with the woman but he couldn't make out any specific words.

He let his mind go back to focusing on answering those questions. It was his first day and he didn't want to be late for class.

When he got to question 6, there was a dip on the couch and Kurt was once again startled out of his concentration.

The boy he had spotted minutes before had sat down next to him, a bunch of papers seemingly identical to Kurt's clasped in his hands.

"Hey," the boy said, holding out a hand in greeting. "My name is Blaine."

His hair was slicked back with gel, but his bangs were slightly curly and only lightly gelled to the side. He had bright, shining eyes that looked like melted honey, framed in by gorgeous eyelashes the shade of coal.

Kurt cleared his throat awkwardly as he realized that he had been blatantly staring. He shook the boy's hand. "Kurt."

"Nice to meet you, Kurt," Blaine said, grinning at him. Kurt wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but he could have sworn he'd seen Blaine's eyes roaming over his face, too, when he'd introduced himself.

"So," Blaine said, pointing at Kurt's papers. "You're new too, huh?"

Kurt nodded shyly.

"Well, that makes two of us," Blaine said happily. He scooted closer, and Kurt almost squeaked because _this boy's thigh is touching mine and oh my god he smells absolutely divine is that cologne or does he actually smell like heaven._

"What did you put down for question 2?" Blaine asked, peering over at Kurt's paper and, in the process of doing so, leaning even closer to him.

Either Blaine didn't notice or he pretended not to, but Kurt's breath hitched at the sudden proximity and his cheeks flooded with color.

"This isn't an exam, you know," he quipped, fairly surprised at how put together he sounded considering he felt completely flustered.

Blaine laughed and actually let his head fall to rest against Kurt's shoulder for a second before going back to filling out his papers.

Kurt couldn't believe this boy was so unafraid of being physical with another boy he had only met seconds ago. Kurt wished he had that courage, too.

They filled out the rest in silence and then Kurt got up to hand his papers in, and Blaine stood just a fraction of a second later. Kurt suspected he had finished some time ago but that he'd been waiting for Kurt to finish.

The thought made his tummy flutter a little.

Kurt handed over his papers to the woman behind the desk, who just smiled knowingly at them.

Kurt blushed ever so slightly as he waited for Blaine to hand his things in too.

"So," Blaine said as he came up next to him, smiling brightly. "Do you wanna take a look around or do you have class right away?"

Kurt peered down at his time table and saw that he had a free period.

"I'm free if you are," he said, smiling shyly.

"Terrific!" Blaine said, and then he held out his arm for Kurt to take, and Kurt was so stunned by this boy's utterly dapper behavior that he broke into a fit of giggles.

Blaine's smile fell slightly and he looked a little hurt.

Kurt forced himself to stop and vowed then and there to do everything in his power to never see Blaine hurt again.

"I'm sorry," he said, smiling softly. "You're just so cute."

Blaine's face lit up and he offered Kurt his arm again. Kurt took it, blushing a little as he glanced around to check no one was glaring at them with that hate in their eyes that Kurt had come to expect from his surroundings.

It was funny, he thought, how quickly he relaxed into holding Blaine's arm like that. For once, he didn't feel afraid.

"So," Blaine said, his voice a little deeper than earlier in an attempt to be even more dapperly gentlemanly. "Where shall we go, dearest?"

Kurt playfully slapped his arm, a soft blush creeping up his neck. The downside to being pale as a ghost was that his cheeks went embarrassingly pink when he blushed.

Thankfully, Blaine didn't seem to mind.

"It doesn't really matter," Kurt said.

"Let's go check out the dorms, then," Blaine decided. He nudged Kurt playfully in the side. "Maybe we'll get to share one. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Kurt grinned back at him. "Yeah, absolutely."


End file.
